Malacanang raises P2-million reward for arrest of ad exec's killers

MANILA - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Alan Purisima said Malacanang has raised to P2 million the reward for information that could lead authorities to the suspects who brutally killed 25-year-old senior ad executive Kristelle "Kae" Davantes.

“The Office of the President announces that it has raised the reward to P2 million for any person who can give information leading to the arrest of the suspect/s responsible for the murder of advertising executive Kristelle ‘Kae’ Davantes,” Purisima tweeted Tuesday on his account.

He said the PNP and Taguig City government had earlier pooled a P500,000 reward for information that will lead to the early arrest of the suspect or suspects.

The Davantes family buried her Sunday afternoon amid a heavy downpour shortly after her silver Toyota Altis (PIM-966) was found abandoned at corner Nickel and Silver Streets at Camella Homes in Barangay Pamplona 3, Las Pinas City.

The Davantes family lives at Moonwalk Village located near the place where the car was found.

Davantes was a senior account manager of McCann Worldgroup Philippines MRM, and holds a master's degree in marketing communications from De La Salle University.

Her mangled body was found under a bridge in Dasmarinas, Cavite on September 7, just hours after she left her office at Bonifacio Global Center in Taguig City.

She bore multiple stab wounds and was apparently strangled to death.

Investigators theorized Davantes knew her killer or killers and that her case may be a "crime of passion."

The perpetrator removed all the seats and even tried to burn the car in an attempt to destroy evidence but the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) said they were able to find some fingerprints left on the car.